


The Heist

by CL_Avery



Series: Marauders - One shots [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Marauders, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, One Shot, One Shot Collection, POV Peter Pettigrew, Sulky Sirius, The Marauder's Map
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:55:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23910436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CL_Avery/pseuds/CL_Avery
Summary: Peter finally gets a starring role in a Marauders’ scheme. He is excited and terrified in equal measure. It is his chance to finally be seen as a true equal. But the Marauders have a bad day and Peter’s grandmother makes him question their friendship. Second in a series of short stories depicting formative scenes in the lives of Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.
Series: Marauders - One shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712635
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	The Heist

**Author's Note:**

> The usual disclaimers apply. This is fan fiction and I do not claim to own the Harry Potter universe or any of the characters or places that appear in the original books.

Peter Pettigrew was staying at his grandmother Frances’ flat in London. He liked it there. His grandmother was a vast improvement on his parents. She made him feel like she wanted him around. But today, he had another reason to be feeling particularly joyful. His friends were coming to visit.

Peter was helping Frances with lunch by cutting up some vegetables for the soup that she was making. But he could not help but glance towards the fireplace every thirty seconds.

“They’ll get here soon, Petey.” Frances said kindly and took the vegetables from him.

“Which is the one who run away from home, again?” Frances asked her grandson.

“Sirius.” Replied Peter.

“Were his parents cruel?” Frances enquired.

“He never really talks about them." Peter shrugged. "He just said that he didn't fit into the Black family master plan.” Peter paused. “I don’t really see how though. He’s the coolest, most popular person in school.” He added quietly.

His grandma stopped stirring the soup pot.

“He’s a Black? From _the_ Black family?” She asked. There was a distinct tone of surprise in her voice. Peter nodded.

“And the other one is James, right? What’s he like?” Frances spoke again. 

“He’s great." Peter’s eyes had lit up. "He’s on the Quidditch team. Best chaser in the whole school.” He added, enthusiastically.

“Is he?” Frances asked, her eyes narrowing. Peter did not understand why she did not seem to share his excitement.

“I think so anyway. But Sirius says that he’s the best only when it comes to the size of his ego.” Peter said, chuckling a little.

Frances did not look impressed. If anything, she look suspicious. But Peter took little notice.

“And then, there is Remus. He’s really smart. And a prefect.” He continued.

Frances stirred the pot few more times in silence.

“And what was it you were going to do this afternoon?” She asked. Peter got the distinct impression that she remembered the answer he gave her the day before but was testing him.

“Just hanging out. Maybe some shopping...” He said, trying very hard to make that sound like the truth.

“Go and make sure the table is ready.” Frances said with a barely noticeable frown.

Peter was not a particularly good liar. But he hoped that he got away with it. He certainly did not want his grandma to know that they were about to break into the Black family home.

He paced around the living room nervously. He rearranged the plates on the table about a dozen times, wondering how they will all fit. Suddenly, he heard a commotion from the kitchen. They were finally here!

≈≈≈

They sat around the crammed dining table, enjoying the soup that Peter and his grandmother prepared earlier. Peter was having the time of his life.

"Take your friends into the other room, Petey. I will bring you some biscuits." Frances said, as they finished. She disappeared into the kitchen with the stack of dirty plates.

" _Petey_? Seriously?" Sirius asked as they walked through the door, in his usual mocking tone. James sniggered. Peter could feel the blood rising to his cheeks. Why did his grandma had to call him that in front of his friends? He was not a little boy anymore.

They sat around the bedroom. James and Sirius were sitting on the bed, Remus and Peter on the floor. It was time to reveal the plan. James turned towards Peter.

" _Petey_..." He began mockingly. "Sirius and I have thought about it long and hard and you will have to go in by yourself." He said. Peter's stomach took a turn.

"Really? You trust me with this?" He asked, his eyes flicking between James and Sirius, who looked far from convinced.

"We don't really have much of a choice." Said Sirius, impatiently. He was looking at his watch. "Can we just get this over with?" He added.

"We need to go through the plan with Peter." Remus said quietly. Sirius rolled his eyes. “I know you don’t want to go back there.” Added Remus, patiently. Sirius stood up abruptly.

"I can't do this. I'll wait outside." He said and walked out.

"We wouldn’t even be here, if you haven't left the map there!" James shouted after him. Sirius did not turn back, just slammed the door behind him.

"Is he ok?" Asked Peter, quietly. He hated when James and Sirius fought. It made him feel like he was a small child again, hiding under the bed, listening to his parents arguing. 

"Who even knows anymore." James shook his head. "He's been like this all summer. He's either sulking in his room or playing depressing music on the piano… And smoking like a chimney.”

“It can’t still be…?” Remus sighed, looking at James. Peter had no idea what they were talking about. 

“No clue. Anyway, the heist…” James shrugged.

After fifteen or so minutes, Peter was fully briefed on the mission and it was time to set off for Grimmauld Place.

“Make sure you’re back for dinner, Petey.” Said Frances as they said good-bye to her.

“Are you planning to stay over? Should I make up some beds?” Frances shouted after them, as they were making their way down the stairs.

Peter froze. He did not really think about it, but it would have been wonderful. But before he could say anything, James piped up.

“I don’t think we’d fit, ma’am.” He shouted back at Frances.

It was like someone had hit Peter with a rock. He felt so embarrassed. The flat had never seemed so small to him.

≈≈≈

They had made it to Grimmauld Place. Sirius was standing on the pavement in front of a row of terraced townhouses, muttering something under his breath. Suddenly, another house had appeared out of nowhere. Peter had never seen anything like it. He stared at the house, with his mouth wide open.

“Remember. Top floor, bedroom on the right, floorboard under the desk.” Sirius barked and glanced at his watch again. “We only have about half an hour, so hurry up. And watch out for the house-elf.” He added.

Peter was feeling quite nervous now. He was convinced that if he messed it up, his friends would never speak to him again.

James, Remus and Sirius formed a wall around Peter to hide him from view. Peter crouched, waited for a while to make sure that no one was looking and then transformed. He slipped through a tiny gap in the basement window, made his way to the staircase, and run up to the top floor as fast as he could. He was so relieved when he found himself in Sirius’ bedroom. He did not get lost and no one had seen him. He transformed back and closed the door quietly behind him.

It took him a while to find the right floorboard. But he did, carefully removed the map, and threw it to Remus who was waiting underneath the window.

Peter could finally breath a big sigh of relief. The map was saved, and he could finally appreciate where he was. While Sirius’ bedroom was in complete disarray, it was still one of the coolest places Peter had ever seen.

There were posters of motorbikes and girls plastered on the walls. He could never get away with that in his room, he thought to himself. His mother would never allow it. And so much stuff was still left there – clothes, books, and even a bicycle. Peter did not understand how Sirius could just leave all of this behind. If he had such cool things, he would guard them with his life.

Peter transformed into a rat again and began making is way back to the basement. He was less nervous now and managed to raise his head to see where he actually was. It was quite spectacular! Peter could not resist to take a peek into some of the splendid rooms on the lower floors. The Blacks even had a room that was just books. It was just like the library at Hogwarts, Peter thought to himself. He had never seen anything like it in someone’s home.

He had to force himself to stop looking around. After all, time was running out. He run to the kitchen and jumped back out through the window. After he transformed back, he got a pat on the back from James and Remus. Sirius was standing little further away from them, looking anxiously over his shoulder, cigarette in hand.

“What took you so long!” He barked at Peter. Remus shot him a disapproving look. Sirius ignored him and began walking away. “Pub?” He shouted over his shoulder.

≈≈≈

“Pub.” James replied and began running after Sirius. Remus did not follow them immediately. Instead, he turned to Peter.

“Wasn’t your grandma going to make dinner?” He asked. Peter swallowed hard. His grandma was going to make dinner. But he could not take them back to the flat. Not after he saw where Sirius grew up.

“It’s fine. It’s still early.” He replied to Remus, looking to the ground. They set off after the other two.

They finally found a place that looked like the landlord was not going to ask too many questions. Even if they were eighteen, they would have no way of proving it. Sirius, who was and looked the oldest, went to get them a round of beers. Peter did not like it. Muggle beer was nothing like butterbeer. It was bitter. And soon, he realised it was also much stronger than butterbeer. But he did not want to feel left out, so he kept drinking.

“Your parents’ house is beautiful.” Peter finally summoned the courage to say. 

“Only someone who didn’t have to live there would say that.” Sirius scoffed. James choked on his beer.

“Have you _seen_ the elf heads?” He asked sarcastically, before adding. “It looks like a house of horrors.”

“Well, it is a house of horrors.” Sirius smirked and took another long sip from his glass. Peter did not understand. If he had a house like this, nothing would ever make him leave.

Peter excused himself and staggered into the toilets. He was not feeling too well. He was just washing his hands when he heard voices through the small window. It was Sirius and Remus, who must have been standing in the pub garden, just underneath it.

“Do you have to keep smoking?” He could hear Remus ask, for what must have been about hundredth time.

“Leave me alone.” Barked Sirius. 

“Why are you still in such a mood?" Remus sighed. "Snape is ok. You didn’t get expelled, although who knows how!” There was a long pause. "I should be angry with you! Have you thought of that?!" By his own standards, Remus did sound quite angry.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Sirius snapped back.

“Is it still the other thing?” Asked Remus. Sirius growled, but did not say anything. “Fine. But if you must take it out on someone, take it out on me or James. We can take it. Just leave Peter out of it.” There was no response. “I’ll go back then.” Peter heard Remus say, and run out of the bathroom as fast as he could. He did not want them to know he was eavesdropping.

Peter beat Remus back to the table and Sirius joined them after a while too. The more beer Sirius had, the more he was back to his loud and exuberant self. That would normally make Peter happy. But not this time. He felt guilty and wanted desperately to go home. He loved his grandmother and did not want to disappoint her. But he could not do it. He convinced himself that his grandmother would understand. This beer thing was making him feel better. So, he drank some more.

≈≈≈

Peter woke up the following morning on his grandma's sofa. He was still in his clothes and was reeking of alcohol and cigarettes. He noticed a bucket, strategically placed near where his head had been. He did not remember much from the rest of the evening. He remembered walking. He remembered running. Were these muggle policemen chasing them down the street? He had no idea how he got back to his grandma’s flat, or when and how his friends had gone home.

He felt dreadful. He showered and made his way to the kitchen. His grandma was frying some eggs. Peter expected her to be furious, to yell at him. But it was much worse. She looked disappointed and her eyes were puffy. She must have been crying.

“I’m sorry…” Whispered Peter. Frances shoved a plate of eggs into his hand and ordered him to the table. They ate in silence.

After she finished her plate, Frances took a long hard look at her grandson.

“Petey, I’m not sure about these friends of yours.” She whispered.

“It was just this one time." Peter went red. "We don’t usually drink, I promise.” He added quickly. 

“That’s not what I mean." Frances shook her head. "I’m worried they are using you. They seem like awful bullies.” Peter was stunned. He was not expecting that.

“But they are my friends. The best friends I’ve ever head.” He replied.

“What about your old friend Roger. Don’t you speak to him?” Frances asked. She sounded tired. 

“He’s a loser, gran. No one speaks to Roger.” Peter replied.

Peter had never seen his grandma like this before. He could tell she was angry at him. He should not have spoken about Roger that way. But she was also giving him a look that he knew very well. It was a mixture of bewilderment and pity. Everyone looked at Peter that way. No one ever understood why James, Sirius and Remus would be friends with him.

“I don’t want you to fall in with the wrong crowd.” Frances said finally. She did not give her grandson an opportunity to respond and ordered him back into the bedroom. “Think about it, Petey. Promise me.”

Peter did not feel any better in the afternoon. He was lying in bed and could not help but think about what his grandma said. It was hard for him to admit, but James could be so full of himself, so selfish. Sometimes it was hard to say whether he cared about anyone else at all. Peter thought of Remus. He was not selfish. But he was a werewolf and would kill Peter in a heartbeat, as long as it was full moon. And Sirius was impulsive and arrogant. One could even say outright dangerous. Peter was not going to forget in a hurry what he did to Snape at the end of last year.

Moreover, none of them would tell him what was bothering Sirius. Come to think of it, they never told him anything. Peter was beginning to feel that maybe his grandma was right. Maybe he should reach out to Roger again. They used to have fun together. And not the kind of fun that meant too much beer and agony the following day.

≈≈≈

His grandma’s words were still weighing heavily on Peter’s mind, as he stood in the sweet shop in Diagon Alley few days later. He could not decide whether he should spend his only pocket money on a liquorice wand or a sugar quill.

“Come on, _Petey_. Decide already.” Sirius barked at him impatiently. Peter felt something he had never felt before. He was annoyed with Sirius.

“I’ll decide when I decide.” He growled back at Sirius, who just scoffed and walked out of the shop.

Peter took his time deciding to buy the sugar quill. It was their time to wait for him. As he was approaching the till, he spotted Roger looking at some acid pops.

“Hi.” Peter said, with a smile. Roger looked startled and immediately started to look around to see where the other three were. When he did not see them, he smiled back at Peter.

“How was your summer?” Roger asked.

“Interesting. Do you want to meet in the ice cream parlour later? I could tell you all about it.” Peter replied.

“Is three o’clock good for you?” Roger asked, with a huge grin. Peter nodded. He felt good. His grandma would be proud of him.

Peter still needed to buy his Hogwarts books, so he made his way to the second-hand bookshop. He was looking for the last textbook at the very back of the store, balancing his money bag on a large pile of tattered books that he had already picked out. Suddenly, he heard a cold voice.

“Pettigrew. All alone, I see.” He turned around quickly and saw a couple of seventh year Slytherins, whose name he could not remember. Peter was indeed all alone and did not like it one bit. His hands were trembling. The larger of the Slytherins slowly walked up to him and snatched the money bag from atop Peter’s books.

“Not very heavy.” He quipped and threw it to the other one.

“It will buy us couple butterbeers.” The other Slytherin replied.

“I think not.” Peter heard from behind him. It was Sirius. He pushed Peter out of the way and squared up to the Slytherins.

“What are you going to do, Black? Beat us up?” One of the Slytherins smirked. 

“You bet I am.” Sirius laughed and threw the first punch. Peter did not see anything else. James run past him to join Sirius and knocked him over. Remus, who was way too smart to join a fistfight in a bookshop, grabbed Peter by the arm and dragged him out of there. They waited in the street.

James and Sirius appeared few minutes later, arms around each other, looking like they were having the time of their lives.

“Sorry, friend. We could not get the books or the money. The shopkeeper chased us out.” Said James and squeezed Peter’s shoulder.

“What am I going to do? I need the books and I don’t have any more money.” Said Peter. His eyes beginning to fill up.

“You can have mine, I bought them earlier.” Sirius smiled a him.

“But what about you?” Peter uttered in disbelief.

“Don’t worry about it… I’ll figure something out.” Sirius shrugged, before adding. “Now I really need a butterbeer.”

They made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Peter felt so happy. They were his true friends after all. They would do anything to protect him. James could not be selfish, he just saved him. Sirius was not arrogant, he was brave. And who cared about Remus being a werewolf, he was the kindest person that Peter ever met. He no longer cared about what was bothering Sirius. He was sure he would tell him if it was important.

It was four o’clock. Roger would have been waiting in the ice cream parlour for an hour now. But Peter did not care. He did not need any other friends.


End file.
